Saturday, January 31, 2009

The End of a Challenge

“The key to life is accepting challenges. Once someone stops doing this, he's dead.” – Bette Davis

From the moment I agreed to be a part of the challenge at the Blog Book Tours forum, I wondered what I was thinking. I struggled to post a blog or two a week, why had I just volunteered to write daily? I still don’t know what was going through my mind or why I accepted the challenge, but weighing everything, I’m glad I did. From the start date of January 5th until today, the last day of the challenge, I did not miss one day of blogging. I have mixed emotions about the experience.

On the down side, I did spend a few anxious hours here and there worried about coming up with an idea, especially when I had houseguests and friends in town. I worked less than I should on my second novel. I’d spent so much more time on my computer, I believe my husband was planning an intervention and checking into the possibility of surgically removing my hands from the keyboard. With the challenge ending, my marriage might now be saved.

On the plus side, I feel proud that I stuck it out after I said I would do it. I learned so much along the way that I now feel more comfortable with blogging. It’s exciting to see my Technorati rating go from the lowest which is a 1 into the high teens in such a short time. I was introduced to many excellent and interesting blogs. I ‘met’ talented authors in a variety of genres, illustrators, editors, publishers and more. My list of books I want to read has grown immensely.

However, the very best outcome is that I feel like I made new friends. I hope that we all stay in touch by continuing blog visits on a regular basis. I want to thank every member of the challenge, plus Dani, Helen and Marvin, and all the other friends I made along the way. I appreciate your support, encouragement, and comments. I would have never made the finish line without your help.

Thanks for stopping by.

Tags: Bette Davis, blog challenge, technorati,

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

You did very well, Jane. I went thru the same "what in the heck did I just agree to?" feelings last August when I took the challenge. But it was sooooo worth it!

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Once you get into the groove, once a day is not that hard! I was already posting 5-6 times a week, but this forced me to make sure they were all interesting!

L. Diane Wolfe
www.circleoffriendsbooks.blogspot.com
www.spunkonastick.net
www.thecircleoffriends.net

Shari Lyle-Soffe said...

I thought this was a challenge to teach us and get us in the habit of posting everyday. So why is everyone giving up now?

Of course, I never have time to write children's books anymore. *sigh

Shari
http://sharilyle-soffe.com

Anonymous said...

I, too, learned quite a bit (I now have themes for everyday so I'm much for organized), but I'm rather glad it is over. I'm not as far along with the finished illustrations for my next book as I'd like to be because I spent so much time blogging. I'm kind of looking forward to having some leeway now.

I will still read your blog, though, and post comments when I can! That part has been fun, too.

Nancy J. Parra said...

I didn't know about the challenge- but am thankful ya'll caught me up in your blogs!

Cheers!

Morgan Mandel said...

If you're now addicted as I am, we'll be seeing each other often on the Net.

Morgan Mandel
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com

Helen Ginger said...

I pretty much felt the same when I did the challenge. I was already blogging 5 days a week, so adding two more days didn't seem like a lot. But it turned out to be. But, like you, I did it, got in the habit of doing it, saw my visitor numbers go up, and made wonderful friends!

Helen
http://straightfromhel.blogspot.com

Jane's Ride - Novelist Jane Kennedy Sutton's journey through the ups and downs of the writing, publishing and marketing world